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Chapter 22: Q6CA. (page 1323)

(Change in Estimate) Mike Crane is an audit senior of a large public accounting firm who has just been assigned to the Frost Corporation’s annual audit engagement. Frost has been a client of Crane’s firm for many years. Frost is a fastgrowing business in the commercial construction industry. In reviewing the fixed asset ledger, Crane discovered a series of unusual accounting changes, in which the useful lives of assets, depreciated using the straight-line method, were substantially lowered near the midpoint of the original estimate. For example, the useful life of one dump truck was changed from 10 to 6 years during its fifth year of service. Upon further investigation, Mike was told by Kevin James, Frost’s accounting manager, “I don’t really see your problem. After all, it’s perfectly legal to change an accounting estimate. Besides, our CEO likes to see big earnings!”

Instructions Answer the following questions.

(a) What are the ethical issues concerning Frost’s practice of changing the useful lives of fixed assets?

(b) Who could be harmed by Frost’s unusual accounting changes?

(c) What should Crane do in this situation?

Short Answer

Expert verified

There will be no ethical issue if there is a reason to change the useful life of the asset. It will affect future period calculations and Crane should report this upper management of the company.

Step by step solution

01

Ethical issues

There are no ethical issues in changing the useful life of any fixed asset of the business. Under both GAAP and IFRS, changes in methods of depreciation and any change in estimated useful life are reported in current and future periods.

02

Unusual accounting changes will cause harm

In this case, any significant change made to the asset will affect its useful life. This will not affect prior period depreciation but it will affect future periods.

03

Actions of Crane

Crane should report these changes to the upper management of the company, also this needs to be disclosed in a form of a report containing all the findings.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

In 2017, Bailey Corporation discovered that equipment purchased on January 1, 2015, for $50,000 was expensed at that time. The equipment should have been depreciated over 5 years, with no salvage value. The effective tax rate is 30%. Prepare Bailey’s 2017 journal entry to correct the error. Bailey uses straight-line depreciation

Pam Erickson Construction Company changed from the completed-contract to the percentage-of-completion method of accounting for long-term construction contracts during 2018. For tax purposes, the company employs the completed-contract method and will continue this approach in the future. (Hint: Adjust all tax consequences through the Deferred Tax Liability account.) The appropriate information related to this change is as follows. Pretax Income from: Percentage-of-Completion Completed-Contract Difference 2017 \(780,000 \)590,000 $190,000 2018 700,000 480,000 220,000 Instructions (a) Assuming that the tax rate is 35%, what is the amount of net income that would be reported in 2018? (b) What entry(ies) are necessary to adjust the accounting records for the change in accounting principle?

(Change from Fair Value to Equity) On January 1, 2017, Beyonce Co. purchased 25,000 shares (a 10% interest) in Elton John Corp. for \(1,400,000.

At the time, the book value and the fair value of John’s net assets were \)13,000,000. On July 1, 2018, Beyonce paid \(3,040,000 for 50,000 additional shares of John common stock, which represented a 20% investment in John. The fair value of John’s identifiable assets net of liabilities was equal to their carrying amount of \)14,200,000. As a result of this transaction, Beyonce owns 30% of John and can exercise significant influence over John’s operating and financial policies.

John reported the following net income and declared and paid the following dividends.

Net Income Dividend per Share

Year ended 12/31/17 \(700,000 None

Six months ended 6/30/18 500,000 None

Six months ended 12/31/18 815,000 \)1.55

Instructions

(Any excess fair value is attributed to goodwill.) Determine the ending balance that Beyonce Co. should report as its investment in John Corp. at the end of 2018

Taveras Co. decides at the beginning of 2017 to adopt the FIFO method of inventory valuation. Taveras had used the LIFO method for financial reporting since its inception on January 1, 2015, and had maintained records adequate to apply the FIFO method retrospectively. Taveras concluded that FIFO is the preferable inventory method because it reflects the current cost of inventory on the balance sheet. The following table presents the effects of the change in accounting principles on inventory and cost of goods sold. Inventory Determined by Cost of Goods Sold Determined by Date LIFO Method FIFO Method LIFO Method FIFO Method January 1, 2015 \( 0 \) 0 \( 0 \) 0 December 31, 2015 100 80 800 820 December 31, 2016 200 240 1,000 940 December 31, 2017 320 390 1,130 1,100 Other information: 1. For each year presented, sales are \(3,000 and operating expenses are \)1,000. 2. Taveras provides two years of financial statements. Earnings per share information is not required. Instructions (a) Prepare income statements under LIFO and FIFO for 2015, 2016, and 2017. (b) Prepare income statements reflecting the retrospective application of the accounting change from the LIFO method to the FIFO method for 2017 and 2016. (c) Prepare the note to the financial statements describing the change in method of inventory valuation. In the note, indicate the income statement line items for 2017 and 2016 that were affected by the change in accounting principle. (d) Prepare comparative retained earnings statements for 2016 and 2017 under FIFO. Retained earnings reported under LIFO are as follows: Retained Earnings Balance December 31, 2015 $1,200 December 31, 2016 2,200 December 31, 2017 3,070

On January 1, 2017, Millay Inc. paid \(700,000 for 10,000 shares of Genso Company’s voting common stock, which was a 10% interest in Genso. At that date, the net assets of Gensototaled \)6,000,000. The fair values of all of Genso’s identifiable assets and liabilities were equal to their book values. Millay does not have the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Genso. Millay received dividends of \(1.50 per share from Genso on October 1, 2017. Genso reported net income of \)550,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017.

On July 1, 2018, Millay paid \(2,325,000 for 30,000 additional shares of Genso Company’s voting common stock which represents a 30% investment in Genso. The fair values of all of Genso’s identifiable assets net of liabilities were equal to their book values of \)6,550,000. As a result of this transaction, Millay has the ability to exercise significant influence over the operating and financial policies of Genso. Millay received dividends of \(2.00 per share from Genso on April 1, 2018, and \)2.50 per share on October 1, 2018. Genso reported net income of \(650,000 for the year ended December 31, 2018, and \)350,000 for the 6 months ended December 31, 2018.

Instructions (For both purchases, assume any excess of cost over book value is due to goodwill.)

(a) Prepare a schedule showing the income or loss before income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2017, that Millay should report from its investment in Genso in its income statement issued in March 2018.

(b) During March 2019, Millay issues comparative financial statements for 2017 and 2018. Prepare schedules showing the income or loss before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018, that Millay should report from its investment in Genso.
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